Today is February 3, 2012, which happens to also be the first Friday of February. Although this day isn’t important to some, for others it’s symbolic. Symbolic of a loved one, friend or maybe even your own battle. Perhaps you are one of the others that find it is an ordinary day?

I stand as one of the individuals who find February 3, 2012 as a symbolic day. Today is Go Red for Women Day. It is a day that I try to get the word out about heart disease. Heart disease is the number 1 killer in women and potentially a silent killer. You see, it wasn’t too symbolic to me until I lost my mother to a sudden heart attack. That was when the light bulb went on that something HAD to be done in my life to ensure I wasn’t a statistic.

My first step was education. I needed to find out myself what I could do. Luckily, I learned there is a lot I can do, which means there is also a lot you can do as well. I beg you to not sit back and think there is nothing you can do to prevent heart disease. Yes, even if you believe you are perfectly healthy or know it’s in the genes. According to Web MD, here are the risk factors:

Gender (Male have higher risks)

Age (older you are , the more risks)

Family history

Post-menopausal

Race

Smoking

High LDL

Low HDL

Uncontrolled high blood pressure

Physical inactivity

Obesity

Uncontrolled high diabetes

High C-Reactive protein

Uncontrolled stress and anger

Now that you see the list, think about what you can change and what you can’t change. The only items that you can’t change include the first five. All the others are variables that YOU can make or break.

As my mom always told me, pick your battles wisely. I choose to battle heart disease. After all, the only risk factor I have that I can’t control is family history and age. So there is no reason to stop me making my body instead of breaking it.